Regulators lift order against Janesville-based bank

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JANESVILLE—State and federal regulators have removed a consent order against a Janesville-based bank accused last year of unsound banking practices and violations of law or regulations.

Mike Jones, chief executive officer of Mid America Bank, said the fact that the bank has been able to work through the consent order in less than a year is a testament to its board, staff and business partners who worked diligently to address the deficiencies noted by the regulators.

The order, an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, went into effect Feb. 27, 2013.

The consent agreement stated the bank does not admit or deny “the charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices and violations of law or regulation relating to weaknesses in asset quality, capital, management, liquidity, sensitivity to market risk and earnings.”

As part of the consent order, Mid America was required to put into effect a variety of accounting procedures and corrections and to:

--Not pay any dividend without written consent of the state and federal agencies.

--Adopt an information-technology program that addresses “deficiencies.”

--“Retain qualified management” that will “restore all aspects of the bank to a safe and sound condition.”

--Retain a consultant to perform a management study, with evaluations of all bank officers and staff members, evaluations of bank officers' salaries and benefits and recommendations for hiring additional or replacement workers and the training or reassignment of officers or staff members.

--Increase participation of the board of directors in the bank's affairs.

--Implement a detailed ethics policy, including ethics training for staff.

--Not extend credit to any borrower whose loan or other credit had been classified as substandard or doubtful.

--Implement a plan to reduce the bank's risk position.

--Implement comprehensive loan-grading and review procedures.

“We have strengthened the operations of the bank, significantly improved the asset quality, added key personnel and otherwise moved rapidly to repair and improve the underlying concerns,” Jones said in a news release. “Our work is not complete, and the lessons learned will not be forgotten, but we are feeling very good about the future.”

Mid America Bank is the former Footville State Bank, chartered in 1910. It was purchased and renamed in 1989, and it moved to Janesville the next year, according to its website. The bank opened a branch in Williams Bay in 1999.